What Happens After Self-Publishing a Book? 6 Ways to Build Author Credibility and Sell Your Book

Self-publishing a book is an exciting adventure, one that doesn’t end with publication. The self-published author must remain an active participant (and, really, the only participant) in every aspect of book publishing. From writing the book to selling the book to maintaining an online author presence, the self-published author will never be bored! They will live and breathe for this book. A part of selling a self-published book is creating credibility as an author. Self-publishing a book is one thing; selling it and gaining fans is another.

What needs to be done after self-publishing a book?

Well, a lot! This is where all your hard work will be realized – that is, if you keep working hard! You need to make sure people hear about your book. Whether they read about it online, hear about from word of mouth, or see ads for it, there is one thing that is absolutely necessary for the sale of any book, self-published or not: credibility! Readers want to know what they’re buying is worth the money. No one wants to spend money on something that is boring, slow, or poorly written. Self-publishing a book is great fun, but if selling the book is your goal, you need to be focused, serious, and diligent.

How to establish yourself as a reliable, and good, author

It’s not easy to make others trust you. Trust is earned, and so, when self-publishing a book, you must earn every single reader’s trust. Here are six reasonable (and fun!) ways to do that.

Self-publish a bookstore quality, well-written book

It seems obvious that this is where we’d start, right? Much of your credibility will come from your writing. If the book isn’t good, then you won’t seem serious. The best self-publishing companies (like us, if we do say so ourselves) will provide you with an exceptional product. This means you need to do your homework. Finding a good self-publisher isn’t hard, per say, but knowing what quality of book they create is crucial. Don’t sink money into something that isn’t worthwhile, or your readers won’t either.

Have a professional, clean website

If potential readers Google you and come across your website, you’ll want to make sure it looks professional and impressive. You should have an actual site address—these usually cost money but are worth it, in the long run, to look legitimate. An attractive and impressive website will add to your credibility—an impressive author should have an impressive website.

Get good reviews

Again, this is obvious as well. If your book has book reviews, and good ones at that, people will read them and be more likely to buy the book. Obviously good reviews depend upon a good book. If you’ve written a good book, then you need to acquire reviews. Reviews tell potential buyers hey, this is worth it, spend your money. Even if it’s as simple as giving the book so many stars out of five, it’ll be enough of a guarantee.

Offer snippets of your book to read for free

If a nice website and some good reviews aren’t enough to build your credibility as an author, offer snippets of your book (random chapters or sections) for people to “preview” beforehand. Self-publishing a book gives you plenty of freedom. You can do whatever you want with the content. Therefore, if you offer advanced readings of the book, people may find what they read interesting enough to buy the entire product. Pick a part of the book that will leave people on the edge of their seat. They’ll be begging to buy the rest.

Use social media—and use it well

Gain attention from prospective readers by using social media sites. Twitter, Facebook, and Google + are so widely used that you’ll find a copious amount of readers. It’s so simple to search for people who read your genre of book. Follow them, join the groups they’re in, tweet/post often, and your book will begin to fly off the shelves!

Set up book signings

Another great way to get readers to believe in you is by setting up book signings. Book signings are the perfect way to attract potential buyers and interact with them! You’ll have to work with your local bookstore in setting something up. Most independent bookstores are more than willing to host self-published authors, since it attracts clients and brings attention to their store. It’s a mutually beneficial situation!

Once you establish credibility, through any number (or all) of these six suggestions, your sales should increase. Especially as a first time self-publisher, you’ll need all the credibility you can get. Once people begin to read your work and remember your name, selling books should get easier and easier. Self-publishing a book is never easy, but in the end, you’ll be proud of yourself for working hard and proving your merit as a writer.